


An Attractive Demonstration

by mattyuty



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Amortentia, F/M, Gryffindor Harry Potter, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Intelligent Harry Potter, Ravenclaw Hermione Granger, academic rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28768782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattyuty/pseuds/mattyuty
Summary: All Harry ever wanted to do was make his dear mother proud and be the best student Hogwarts has seen, but that couldn't happen, no, not with her there to defeat him every single time. But when the opportunity finally lands on his lap, you better bet he'll take it. He won't waste another opportunity to defeat her, so today, defeat her he shall.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Kudos: 20





	An Attractive Demonstration

**Author's Note:**

> Academic Rivals AU entry on HMS Harmony Discord, hope you guys like it. I am not a writer, so there are certainly some (or a lot of) mistakes, so I do apologize, but I do try to fix them as soon as I see them. Also, if this is a little all over the place for you, I'm sorry, again, I'm not a writer, I just have the general idea of how the story goes, but when I start to write, I write the words as they come into my mind so stuff in between those ideas tend to be a bit hit or miss. But nevertheless, I do hope people can enjoy this, because I sure did enjoy writing it. Cheers!
> 
> I am in no way associated with Harry Potter aside from being a very passionate fan, so if you see anything familiar, especially stuff regarding the Harry Potter universe, those belong to whomever they belong to. I do not gain any financial benefits from this.

Frustration. Extreme utter frustration. That's exactly what he's feeling… Why?

Well, it's because of _her._

She did it again! And she wasn't really subtle about it either, smirking at him when what she's done, or rather what she's done first, was revealed to the class.

Harry James Potter wasn't happy, as a matter of fact, he's furious, very furious. So furious that he felt like he might transform into a big green monster and smash everything he laid his eyes on.

He's proud of one thing though, one of the very few things he certainly beats her at, and that is composure. In all the six years of fuming over her, he has never shown any signs of it, masking his fury and frustration with a smile and the ooze of confidence. She however, doesn't, if one goes by the many snide remarks and piercing glares she had directed at him over the many years they've interacted.

So what has the great Hermione Jean Granger, 'Brightest Witch of Her Age' done this time? She's beat him in Charms _and_ Transfiguration, _again._ Every. Single. Time. He knows the term has just begun, but still! Almost every subject they've taken she's always a step ahead of him and it was infuriating. The last time he could remember besting her at anything was during flying lessons, and that was six damn years ago!

There was an unwritten, unspoken battle going on with them since the first class they've ever taken together in Hogwarts. See, Harry's mother, Lily, was the highest ranking student in her year, in every year she's attended, and in her memory, he wanted to do the same and achieve what his mother had achieved. He wanted to make her proud. That's all he's ever wanted, but then _she_ comes along and ruins it for him.

They both wanted to be the best so they fought time and time again, and every time they clashed their desire to trump each other grew exponentially, and thus the biggest rivalry ever seen in Hogwarts. They've been battling it out every year, but to Harry's utter distress, he kept losing, his absolute best, while marginally close, wasn't good enough to defeat her. This time though, he'll show her who the best is. He can finally make his mother proud.

The subject this afternoon, is the gruelling art of brewing stuff in cauldrons: Potions. Through his years of study, this subject was a definite loss for him, Snape made sure of that with his undeniable bias against everything that has the name 'Potter.' But this year though, Snape's not their Potions professor anymore, and he'll bloody make sure to take advantage of it.

His mother was a Potions prodigy, so he was told, and that fuelled his desire to trump _her_ and be the best student in the subject. From the moment he knew Professor Slughorn was teaching Potions instead of the slimy, greasy-haired bastard, he owled every bookstore he could get in contact with, and bought the most comprehensive, intricate, most informational books he could find on the subject and devoured every single one, he even went as far as consulting various piotioneers from around the world, one even gave him an early copy of her own book! Oh, he'll definitely show her today!

He rounded the corner of the dungeon corridor where Professor Slughorn's classroom was located. He was the first one there, his excitement for the prospect of finally one-upping his arch nemesis made him trot in glee towards the dungeons. It didn't take long for other students to arrive though. The door of the classroom wasn't opened yet, so they filled the corridor on each side.

Since there were only a handful of students who qualified for N.E.W.T. level Potions in their year, everyone, regardless of house, was taking the same class together. Thus, the crowd that formed was a gaggle of students wearing an assortment of coloured robes. A few Slytherins arrived followed by a single Hufflepuff. Harry was the only Gryffindor to have progressed for this subject.

A few moments later though, he saw _her_ , in the middle of a group of Ravenclaws walking towards the growing crowd in front of the classroom _._ Talking to her friends like a normal human being, with her cute brown bushy hair, small adorable face, and those bewitching brown eyes. Ugh! She's insufferable. He'll defeat her today as if it's the last thing he'll do.

"What's wrong with Potter?" one of her friends asked. His eyes bulged, he didn't realize he was staring at her so intently. He looked away immediately.

"What's _not_ wrong with him?" _She_ said. He crossed his arms at the comment and started staring blazingly at the still closed classroom door, staying silent despite her friend's giggles at her words. Get it all out of you Granger, he thought, he'll wipe the smug off her face soon. He mentally recalled everything he'd ever read about the subject in the past couple of days leading up to the first Potions class of the year.

Luckily, not a second later the door to the dungeon classroom opened. With a smile, they were greeted by Professor Slughorn with his rather large belly and his walrus moustache. He didn't wait though, he bolted inside ready to begin the quest of ending his nemesis' reign, much to the delight of the professor who mistook his eagerness as enthusiasm for his subject. Immediately upon entering the room, he noticed the unusual smells already lingering in the air. He smirked gleefully.

He sat at one of the tables, nearest to a cauldron that was giving off an indescribable smell, albeit a familiar smell, the most seductive smell his nose has ever got the privilege to inhale. His head popped in his recognition. _Amortentia._

He became confused though. Where has he smelled that before? But, before he could ponder about it, the door of the classroom shut close as the last of the students entered the room.

The Slytherins took one of the tables for themselves, while the Ravenclaws were split in two, one table completely filled by the blue-robed students, including _her_ , while the rest of them sat at Harry's table, along with the lone Hufflepuff, McMillan, he thought his name was. He nodded at them in acknowledgement, he might not be friendly with _her_ , but the rest of her housemates were some of the most brilliant brains in the school, so being sociable with them provided him with people to share intellectual conversations with, the same, unfortunately, can't be said for his own house.

He liked his housemates, really, they were funny and a lot of fun to be with, but when it came to conversations, they would rather jump off the astronomy tower than hear him rabble on about how fascinating his lesson in Arithmancy was. So he had to look elsewhere for any kind of academic discussions.

"Now then," said Professor Slughorn, as he finished wobbling to the front of the class, "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the potions you will need to master brewing by the end of your N.E.W.T.s. You may have heard or read about 'em, even if you haven't attempted brewing some yet. Now, can anyone tell me what this one is?" The professor pointed at the cauldron near the table where the Slytherins sat. It looked like boiling water, obviously transparent as only the colour of the cauldron can be seen. _Veritaserum._

His hand shot up, unsurprisingly, so did Granger. But much to his dismay, the professor noticed her first.

"Yes, miss?" The professor asked. Harry stared at her, glaring daggers, albeit only in his mind.

"Granger, sir," she answered.

"Ah! The bright Miss Granger! I've heard lots of great things about you, especially from my colleagues," the professor said, making her blush. Suck up.

"That's Veritaserum sir," she continued, "a colourless and odourless potion that can force the drinker to tell the truth." Harry huffed, Slughorn was closer to her, she got lucky.

"Very good, very good!" Slughorn exclaimed. "Now," he continued, then gestured to the cauldron next to the table where Granger sat, the cauldron was filled with a slowly bubbling, mud-like potion which could only be one thing. _Polyjuice._ "I know you lot may already know what this one is… it's been featured in a lot of leaflets by the Ministry… who ca-"

Harry was looking at Granger keenly who he noticed was ready to raise her hand again, so in an attempt to beat her to it, he moved even before Slughorn finished talking. But in his rush to raise his hand, he forgot where it was situated, on his knee, _under_ the table. His hand hit the bottom of the thick marble table with such a force that his squeal of pain reverberated through the room. All heads immediately turned to him as he cursed under his breath.

"Harry, m'boy," Slughorn asked with obvious concern, "are you alright?"

"I-I-I'm fine, professor," he said in a still slightly high-pitched voice, grimacing at the pain, "just caught my hand in the table that's all," the professor nodded, then took notice of Granger's raised hand. Crap.

"Ah, yes Miss Granger?" The pain in his hand was instantly forgotten, "I take it you know what it is?"

No! No! No! This can't be happening! It can't be happening!

"Polyjuice Potion, sir," she answered smoothly. Harry mentally punched himself. What has he done to deserve this?

"Excellent, excellent! Now, this one here, I guess you know it as well Miss Granger?" What?! The professor didn't even give chance for anyone else to raise their hands, just outright went and asked her. If he had fifty-fifty thoughts on Professor Slughorn before the class, right now, he's a hundred percent horse dung to him.

"It's Amortentia sir!" He was now directing his mental glare of daggers at the professor.

"I assume you know what it does?"

"It's the most powerful love potion in the world," said Granger, her cute face dominated by the familiar yet annoying smirk. Ugh! He hates her so much!

"Quite right! I suppose you recognised it by the distinct mother-of-pearl sheen?"

"And the steam rising in spiral," she added with enthusiasm.

Opportunity! Need opportunity! Please! Please! _Please!_

She continued, "and it's supposed to smell differently to each person, according to what attracts us the most."

There it is! The opportunity!

Harry, without missing a beat, quickly raised his hand, rapidly going over what he's about to say. Operation Destroy Little-Miss-Perfect is underway. Fortunately, unlike his two previous attempts, he managed to get the professor's attention. Harry smiled.

"Yes, Harry?" The professor asked gleaming at him. Granger narrowed her eyes at him, he wasn't perturbed though, "what is it m'boy?"

"I'd just like to clarify something Miss Granger said sir… it was rather incorrect."

"What?!" She bellowed, "I said what was exactly written on our textbook, word for word. If you think I was incorrect, then I suggest you go to the infirmary so Madam Pomfrey can get your head checked, Potter."

"Well, the book's wrong then," Harry explained with a smile, ignoring her jab, "it doesn't smell according to what attracts us _the most_ , but rather what attracts us _right now_ , as in currently."

"And how would _you_ know that?" Granger spat.

"I happen to have read a few books outside this year's booklist," he then added cheekily, "haven't you?"

She glared at him, the same glare she has given him countless of times before, but unlike those times, this time her face was red with anger. He got her. His smile widened at the thought. This is it, he's going to defeat her. Oh, how long he'd been waiting for this moment.

 _"_ Anyways," said Harry casually, "According to the _Comprehensive Studies on Potions and Potion Making by Abedia Nadir,_ Amortentia smells according to what we are _currently_ attracted to and not necessarily 'the most,' which was what Miss Granger said," he gestured to her as he mentioned her name, which made her face go even redder with anger.

He continued, "Although in most cases a person is already currently attracted to what attracts them the most, which is why older publications have indicated it to be as such, but in reality, there's more to it than that. The potion's aroma depends on certain conditions and is certainly affected by many factors. A change in aroma can actually be prompted by the sudden appearance of a powerful attractive element that can overwhelm a person's senses, the attractive property of the newfound element can mask all other attractive entities, and as long as that element is present, the aroma of the potion would associate with it. Only when that element is removed or another more powerful attractive element presents itself will it then change. Thus, it can be concluded that the potion's odour matches with what the person is currently attracted to at the moment of inhalation. Anyways, we're delving into something outside of Potions, so I'll stop the-"

"And what makes you think that this Nadir person isn't wrong? I mean I haven't even heard of her nor of that book," She cut him off, but he didn't mind. Oh, Operation Destroy Little-Miss-Perfect is going so perfectly. He smiled at her.

"Well, Abedia Nadir is a contemporary American potioneer who graduated from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and has a Masters in Potions and Magical Theory, she, unlike any of her peers, also studied Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, a well-known Muggle University here in the United Kingdom and was able to get her Ph.D. She was quite known for her theories in Potions, mixing both Muggle Chemistry and Magical Theory in studying the various existing potions in the whole wizarding world, thus having far more complex understanding of the subject than most of the world's potioneers," he paused briefly, then stared at her with a faux look of confusion, "I'm quite disappointed that you don't know her, Miss Granger, any enthusiast of academics would have surely heard of her."

She huffed in annoyance, but didn't reply, so he continued, "well, her book _Comprehensive Studies on Potions and Potion Making_ is still yet to be published, I got in contact with her myself and she kindly sent me an early copy, that's why you've never seen nor heard of it yourself. Anyways, the book highlighted many new discoveries with pre-existing potions, many came from the results of Nadir's own experiments on the both magical and non-magical properties of potions and their ingredients. One of those discoveries pertains to the odour of the only potion in the world capable of expelling aroma that's unique to every person, which is the very potion we are talking about right now."

Harry once more made eye contact with Granger, silently goading her to say something. She remained silent though. He needed to end this, make his point solid, but how?

An idea popped into his mind.

"Still not convinced, Miss Granger?" To the average person it may sound like a normal question to ask at this point, but to everyone who knows _the_ Hermione Granger, that was probably the most useless question in the entire universe. Why ask a question you already know the answer to? But he didn't ask that question for nothing, no, he asked it to incite her, the thing he needed in order to start building the very foundation of his brilliant idea.

"No, no I'm not."

"Do you want a demonstration then?" he asked confidently.

"Yes, if you'll give one," she said with a dignified face, likely thinking that he would fail somehow. He won't though, that's for sure. He looked towards Professor Slughorn and silently asked him for permission, when he nodded enthusiastically, he smiled at her once again.

"Very well then," he said standing up, grabbing the cauldron of Amortentia and dragging it to the centre of the room. Granger looked a little surprised, she might have thought he was giving a ruse. He wasn't.

"I do need a volunteer, and since you're the one asking for this demonstration, Miss Granger, would you please join me."

"Fine," she said sharply, her face solemn. She stood up from where she sat and walked next to the cauldron beside him. Oddly as she did, he noticed the slight strengthening of the aroma. He didn't give it a second thought though.

"Alright, first I want you to get a good whiff of the potion," he said, pointing at the cauldron. Granger bent down, although begrudgingly, to the brim of the potion and inhaled deeply. She closed her eyes as her face turned soft in pleasure for a few seconds, weirdly her head started drifting off the cauldron and towards his direction. When she realized what she was doing, she briskly stood up stiffly, looking straight ahead, her face coloured with a tinge of red. Harry slightly raised an eyebrow, but waved it off as soon as she spoke again.

"What's next?" She asked impatiently, although there was a slight nervousness in her voice now. He looked at her questioningly, why is she suddenly getting all worked up? "Don't tell me I have to describe what it smells like."

"Well, not exactly, just," he said calmly, "does it smell like me?"

Granger choked, which was surprising considering she didn't have anything in her mouth. She stared at him for a moment her eyes wide, absolutely appalled by the question.

"O-of course not!" she exclaimed.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Why in the world would I be attracted to _you?_ " she said, weirdly staring away from him.

"Just making sure, otherwise this demonstration won't work," said Harry, though he has no doubt that she was telling the truth. She attracted to him? That's just too absurd to even consider.

"Alright," he moved closer to Granger, which garnered a protest from her.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Relax Granger, bloody hell. What's got your knickers in a twist?" he remarked.

"Nothing, g-go on."

"Alright, I want you to stretch your arms towards me like this," he moved his arms to show her.

She raised an eyebrow at his instruction, "Why? What has that got to do with this?"

"It has everything to do with the demonstration," he said sharply, she wasn't convinced though, so he rolled his eyes and pleaded, "just, do it."

She did so reluctantly, although she's right to be reluctant and it didn't take long for anyone to figure out why.

The moment her arms were outstretched, he grabbed hold of them, pulling her towards him, their chests colliding. She shrieked, he smirked. Her already outstretched arms wrapping themselves around his torso by instinct.

Loud gasps filled the classroom.

"W-what are you doing?!" she squirmed, immediately putting her hands between their chests, and trying to push him away, but Harry wrapped his arms around her preventing her from even moving an inch away from him. When she didn't stop fighting out of his grasp, he moved his head to the side of her face and placed his mouth right next to her ear.

"Shhh, relax," he whispered soothingly into her ear, "you were the one who wanted a demonstration, so I'm giving you a demonstration."

His lips accidentally touched her earlobes, then felt a shiver run down her body, the hair on her neck standing up. That's exactly the reaction he wanted.

He moved his head slowly towards her mouth, tracing her jaw, his lips just barely touching her skin. Only when his lips were hovering over hers did she finally say something.

"W-w-what are you doing?" she said quietly, nervousness clear in her soft voice.

"Demonstrating," he said in the same soothing whisper he used previously. His lips started moving closer to hers.

Another set of loud gasps reverberated through the room.

Granger closed her eyes shut at the movement, her lips parting in anticipation. The hands she had on his chest suddenly gripped his shirt, and she stopped breathing. His lips moved closer and closer to hers until there was barely a gap between them.

And then he stopped.

He pulled his lips away slowly, then started looking around the room. What he saw was pure hilarity.

Everyone, even Malfoy, had their mouths opened, some had eyes so wide open that their eyeballs look like they're about to pop out. He then glanced at Professor Slughorn who shared the same expression of absolute bewilderment as his students.

Granger though, still had her eyes closed and lips parted. Only when he completely pulled away from her did her eyes snap open, enlarging at the sight of him and letting out deeply the breath she's been holding.

She was stiff as a tree and was staring at him with a dazed look. She kept staring though, even as he slowly backed away from her. She wasn't snapping out of her trance, so he decided to help her.

He flashed her a smirk, and winked. This did the job as she quickly looked away from him. His demonstration was definitely a success.

"Alright, Miss Granger," he said, smirking at her unsettled demeanour, "I need you to smell the potion again."

She didn't respond, still standing in the same stiff position, still looking away from him.

"Miss Granger?" she snapped her head to look at him. A bewildered expression still plastered on her face. She didn't respond though, just stared at him. That's when his achievement dawned on him.

He made her speechless! Hermione Granger was never speechless, she always had something to say in every situation. This couldn't have turned out any better.

He still needed to prove his point though, so he decided to try and snap her out of her daze. The moment he took a step, she stumbled backwards, almost losing her balance, much to his amusement.

"W-w-w-what?" she asked frantically.

"I need you to get a good whiff of the potion again," he said pointing at the cauldron, "we're not finished yet."

"Oh-no-ye-I… ahh… o-of course," she tripped over her words, which was even more surprising than her earlier speechlessness. She shook her head and gained enough composure to move closer to the cauldron.

Her eyes closed again as she took in the potion's aroma, but then snapped opened quickly.

"W-what's next?" she spoke so quietly, it was amazing he heard her.

"I'm just going to ask you the same question," he said with a smirk, "does it smell like me?"

She looked around the classroom, everyone had recovered from their shock and was now intently observing her, waiting for her to answer. Even Professor Slughorn, who was probably the most shocked out of everyone in the room, was now showing interest in the result of this unorthodox demonstration. She turned back at him.

"Yes," she said simply.

His smirk widened, and he turned to face the rest of the class, "As you have observed everyone, I was able to change the odour of the potion for Miss Granger. Whatever she was attracted to prior to my... demonstration, was masked by her current attraction to an element that presented itself to her. Therefore, the demonstration undoubtedly proves Abedia Nadir's conclusion that Amortentia's odour is unique not according to what attracts a person the most, but what attracts a person _currently_ ," he turned back to Granger, who was still visibly trying to regain her poise, "satisfied, Miss Granger?"

Suddenly, like a switch that was flicked on, her persona snapped back into place, the familiar glare forming in her face as she stared him down.

"Yes," she said sharply. She was about to say more when the sound of the bell rang through the room.

"Oh my," said Professor Slughorn, checking his wristwatch, "I must say, I certainly have lost track of the time, goodness me! I was hoping to have a friendly brewing competition today, but it seems like we have to wait until next class. Anyways, that was a very… insightful demonstration from Mr. Potter, very intriguing indeed, and for that I give 50 points to Gryffindor, you deserve no less for your effort today."

Harry smiled, a true smile, a smile that haven't formed in his face for years. He won! He couldn't believe it, he won against _her._ It felt so amazing, finally, after years and years of trying, he finally was able to do what he couldn't do! _She_ has finally been defeated. Oh, his mother will be so proud.

There was a cough beside him.

"Ah yes! Of course, of course, for Miss Granger's part in the demonstration, 20 points to Ravenclaw," she didn't look at all grateful, just a look of indifference forming on her face. She turned to Harry, but he was surprised when she didn't glare, instead she frowned before walking to her table.

Harry went over to his table and started gathering his things, not that he had to, he didn't even take anything out. No one at their table acknowledged him, but he could feel their gazes on him, and who could blame them? He almost kissed her. And then the thought struck him, he almost kissed her… _her._ And it was _him_ who almost did it. Somehow, it didn't sound as disgusting, which in itself was an even bigger surprise.

Once he finished checking his belongings, he grabbed his satchel and started walking towards the door, he took a quick glance at Granger and was surprised to see her looking at him, his eyes locking into her brown orbs before she quickly looked away, he saw her face flush red, which must be from anger, he thought. Shrugging, he went out the door into the now noisy corridor.

As he walked, he smiled at his triumph today. For once he bested her, for once he was better than her, and for once he could say he defeated her. This day started as dreadful as any other day, but now it was one of the best days of his life, and it couldn't get any better.

"Hey, Potter!" A familiar voice suddenly rings through the noisy corridor. He expected this, her red face was the clue, she's furious and want revenge. Well, try as she could, she can't deny his win now. Harry turns around with a smirk, crossing his arms in the process. Oh, this is going to be good.

"What? Come to unreasonably discredit my indisputable win today?" He looked at her in the eyes, his proud smirk turning into a smile.

"Don't be smug Potter, all you did was… unsettle me," Granger replied with a face he couldn't discern.

"I think I did more than unsettle you," he replied with a wink, hoping to make her even angrier. He thought he was successful when her face went red, but her anger though wasn't showing, which was unusual for her, usually she wouldn't be holding back, she would have exploded, and with how red her face is, her explosion would have rivalled an atomic bomb… that made _him_ unsettled.

She closed the distance between them while maintaining eye contact, walking with a smirk plastered on her still reddened face, making him even more unsettled. Why has she suddenly became all confident with him?

He won! He won and there's no denying it, he tried to reassure himself. He got her, he definitely got her this time, he made his point, proved that point, he successfully rebutted every counter argument she threw at him, and on top of it, he made her speechless, speechless! Something no one could have done. Ever. The demonstration was nothing but a success.

But then a thought that made his skin crawl came ramming into his mind. Maybe it wasn't a success. Because if it was a success, wouldn't she should be fuming? Wouldn't she be spatting the most snarky remarks she knows while giving him the most piercing glare she could give? Wouldn't she be ripping him apart for even attempting the demonstration? Yet here she is, smirking at him, her brown eyes glinting. It's like… she knows something. No, that can't be! There's nothing she could find wrong with his demonstration!

He mentally shook his head quickly, trying to drown those worrying thoughts in his mind. Fortunately his face didn't give it away. Unfortunately, by the time he was able to regain awareness of the situation at hand, she already closed their distance… rather extremely.

Her face was now only a few inches away from him, she was so close that he could count the hairs of her eyelashes. This is weird, really weird, scary weird. This is so unlike her, she usually keeps her distance during spats! She doesn't like being up in people's faces. _And_ after what happened in class, after what they almost did, she should be getting as far away from him as possible, not the opposite. It took all of his willpower to keep his composure, doing everything that he can to keep the smirk on his face.

"Your… demonstration… was rather inconclusive."

"Inconclusive?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I was clearly able to change the smell of the potion for you."

Her smirk grew, which made his falter. Maybe she does know something, he thought, his heart was pounding now.

"No, you asked me if it smelled like you," she replied. He didn't know how it was possible with how close they already were, but she moved even closer, "and I said yes."

He tilted his head to show his further confusion, trying to not to care about how close their faces were. Why is he suddenly being nervous about their distance, didn't he almost kiss her?

"That's the point Granger, I was able to change what you smell."

"No you didn't," she said. She wasn't looking at him anymore, instead playing with a seemingly invisible piece of fabric on his tie. That, coupled with their closeness and her uncanny behaviour added to the inexplicable situation. This is strange! She's never initiated anything physical like this, even if it was to get him back for his demonstration, that's just not _her._ She would rather duel me than indulge in this kind of behaviour!

Harry was nervous now. His mask was falling, what was once a face full of the joy of victory was now replaced with that filled with perplexity, confusion... and fear. He gulped inaudibly, but didn't move away.

"Yes I did," he countered quickly. "The only way it wouldn't have changed is if the potion already smelled like me, and you _clearly_ said it didn't."

"Well" she said softly, her gaze was strangely pointed somewhere near his mouth. "I lied."

She suddenly grabbed his tie, pulling him down, and smashing her lips into his. And like a television whose plug was pulled out of its outlet, his brain completely shut off.

There were loud gasps and squeals and for the first time Harry realised that his 'confrontation' with Granger had gathered an audience. But somehow he didn't care, his brain was turned off, and her lips felt amazing. Now though, he couldn't understand why he _tried_ to kiss her earlier when he could have just done it. He closed his eyes, and started kissing back. He could feel the gazes of their classmates in the background, but he kept kissing her and she kept kissing him, melting in the pleasure of their action. She grabbed hold of his hair while he snaked his arm around her waist, both pulling each other even closer. Only when their lungs were deprived of oxygen did they separate from each other's grasp.

"I knew that was going to happen!" A voice called out from the crowd.

They looked around and then both blushed. It looks like everyone in class was present, along with a few others who may have been passing by when they happen to stumble into the intimate scene. They ignored them though.

"So," Harry frowned, although still pretty much basking on the taste of her lips, "my demonstration was inconclusive."

"Yes, yes it was," Hermione confirmed, a full-on smile on her face. Harry's brain though was starting to turn back on, his circuits firing as he realises the implications.

"B-but, that was completely unfair! You lied! It meant I was experimenting with false information," he started to ramble, somehow forgetting what they just did a mere minute ago, "If I had chosen another person for the demonstration it would have surely wor-"

"Shut up," Hermione snapped, grabbing his tie, and pulling him into a kiss again. And like the first time, his brain shut off.

"Now, would you like to do that again?" She asked when she pulled away after a few seconds, a tinge of redness on her cheeks. He blushed, forgetting all about his outburst, instead focusing on just how sensational her lips were. How could he not do that again? With a sheepish smirk, he nodded. "Then just be glad that you demonstrated on me," she then added in a soft whisper, "I know I did."

She fixed his tie which was dishevelled by their activities, "I'll see you in the library then," she said with a smile, giving him a quick peck on the lips before walking off. The bewildered crowd shuffling quickly to make a path for her.

"You just can't let me win can you?" He asked as she walked away.

"Nope," he heard her faint reply right before she disappeared behind the corner.

Well, Harry thought, if they will do _that_ every time she wins, then from now on, he wouldn't mind losing to her all the time.


End file.
